Chihiro Ikeda

Chihiro Ikeda rode on an explosive frontside charge to wrest control then birdied the last hole to cushion the impact of a faltering finish for a two-under 69 and a two-stroke lead over amateur Bernice Ilas at the start of the ICTSI Beverly Place Challenge in Mexico, Pampanga yesterday.

A perennial contender but never a winner on the fledgling Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, Ikeda took one big step in her pursuit of the elusive crown, taming the flat par-34-37 Beverly Place Golf Club layout with three birdies at the front then birdying the par-5 closing hole to negate her bogey mishaps on Nos. 10 and 17.

Ikeda, a former SEA Games gold medalist who had a number of runner-up finishes in the four-year-old circuit, bucked the bunker laden layout with superb iron play, ramming in birdies on Nos. 1, 7 and 9 inside five feet only to lose her rhythm at the back.

With majority of the other pros groping for form despite coming off back-to-back stints in the Taiwan LPGA Tour here, Ilas assumed the early challenger’s role with a two-birdie, two-bogey stint for a 71 while Ilas’ The Country Club teammate Mikha Fortuna missed grabbing solo third with a bogey on the par-5 17th and wound up with a 73 in a tie with Lovelyn Guioguio, who gunned down four birdies but had the same number of bogeys with one double bogey in hot, humid condition.

Bernice Ilas

Ilas, however, will have her hands full as she slugs it out with Ikeda and Guioguio in the featured flight in today’s pivotal second round of the 54-hole championship sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

Sam Martirez, the other fancied player from the TCC stable who put in an impressive third place finish in the Taiwan LPGT Manila Southwoods last month, struggled at the front with three bogeys but steadied with a run of pars, including two flubbed birdie chances, in the last nine holes for a 74.

Sarah Ababa, winner at the tough Sherwood Hills leg last year, also finished without a birdie but had four bogeys for a 75 in a tie with fellow leg winners Jayvie Agojo and Fil-Am Cristina Corpus.

Agojo, the former Philippine Ladies Open winner, gunned down four birdies, including the last, but had too many bogeys while Corpus, who bested a tough field that included a slew of Thais at Luisita last year, birdied the last two par-5 holes to salvage a four-over card.

Malaysian amateur Kellie Kan showed a lot of promise despite stumbling with four bogeys and a double bogey as she came through with two birdies to join the four-over par scores at sixth, six strokes off Ikeda in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Sharp, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Champion, TaylorMade and Pacsports.